


Rise, Warrior of Light

by Sakumotsu



Series: Rise & Fall [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, Kid Sakumo, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, The white fang's origin story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:07:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21636325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sakumotsu/pseuds/Sakumotsu
Summary: The White Fang was said to be stronger and more famous than the Legendary Sanin.This is how he got there.
Relationships: Hatake Sakumo & Original Hatake Character(s), Hatake Sakumo & Senju Tobirama, Hatake Sakumo & Shimura Danzou, Hatake Sakumo & Uchiha Kagami, Senju Tobirama/Original Hatake Character(s), Uchiha Kagami/Shimura Danzou
Series: Rise & Fall [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1559560
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21





	1. Seed

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Chronicles of the White Fang](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/539254) by FleursMortes. 



Rolling up his sleeves, a young silver haired boy concentrates on his breathing as he rubbed his hands together. Once his hands finished rolling the dirt in between his palms, the boy weaves the hand signs for an earth jutsu. He pushes his hands down into the ground beneath him and exhales his breath. 

“Earth release: Mud Wall!” 

The boy shouts and a small dyke forms. “Yes! Grandpa! You see that?”

“Good job, Sakumotsu.” The elder, Hatake Nofū, ruffled his grandsons soft silver hair. “That was a bigger trench than the last one.” Nofū then patted bags of rice seed. “Now how about you help grandpa plant these.” 

“Alright.” Sakumo smiled not at all ashamed of his missing front tooth.

Nofū cut the big bag of seed open. Sakumo took his farming hat off and scooped up the rice seeds with it. The eight year old walked off and began throwing the seeds. 

Nofū smiled as he watched his grandson. The Hatake clan continued on with Sakumo, and Nofū saw the brains and talent that their clan was known for. 

Whatever subject or skill Sakumo found interesting was talked about and practiced for weeks. Lately, that interest was ninjutsu. 

For the Hatake clan living in the Land of Grass, their family was small and poor. Turning their old clan war techniques into farming techniques. Nofū was the only one who had any formal ninja training, and only taught his grandson the basics to assist in manual labor. 

Sakumo ran across the farm fields. Using chakra to cross the flooded areas. 

Nofū’s smile dropped. 

At the end of the farm, were six Iwa ninja. 

Sakumo was running across the water right towards them. The ninja watched the boy run as well, then one with piercing eyes made eye contact with Nofū. 

The ninja returned their gaze to Sakumo. 

Being an eight year old farmer boy, Sakumo didn’t notice the ninja until he bumped into the biggest nin and bounced off the big belly. 

“Hey! Watch out.” Sakumo spoke from the muddy ground.  
“Sorry, it's hard to see shrimps.” The big Iwa ninja looked down at Sakumo. His black eyes peered into Sakumo’s. 

“Mmmf.” Little Sakumo had no idea what to do. All six of the ninja wore red Iwa style masks, and the poor kid couldn’t tell if they meant him harm or not.

“Leave him be Fū.” A femme ninja reeled the big one in. “He’s just a stupid kid.” 

“Hmm, I think Fū is onto something. The kid can use chakra, that’s impressive for some dirt poor farmer.” A nin spoke, and Sakumo felt the insult. 

Sakumo stood up and stared at the ninja with interest. 

Like most kids in his small Terakoya, Sakumo was absolutely in awe of any shinobi. They ran their world after all, yet they were never seen. At least not by small civilian children anyway. 

All Sakumo knew was stories told by older kids and his grandfather. 

That said, he was nervous. 

“You’re shinobi?” 

“Uh yeah.” The one who insulted him showed off his Iwa headband. “And we’re here on business, so could you start the negotiations already.” 

“Wha?” Sakumo was confused. He heard ninjas were quiet and stoic, and this guy defied Sakumo’s reality. 

“Sakumotsu.” Nofū shunshinned in between his grandson and the six Iwa nin. 

“Whoaa! Two farmers with chakra?” The talkative ninja nudged the next ninja over. “This could be interesting.” 

“I’m Hatake Nofū. This is my farm. Who are you and what do you want!” Nofū bellowed unafraid of the six foreign shinobi. 

“Hahaha!” The big and loud ones laughed and the others smirked and scoffed at the old man. 

“Hatake-san.” The shortest and most composed changed the tone. “We’re here to collect supplies and food for the war effort.” 

“War effort?” Nofū looked on with disgust. “I thought your lot got rid of wars with new ninja villages. Did that not work out?” 

“All things take time old man.” The ninja next to the loud one spoke harshly. “Give us your goods so we can move on.” 

“Hmph.” Nofū visually patted down the Iwa nin. Six ninja. All of them armed. Nofū looked at his grandson. Muddied and curious, the boy would be an easy target. “Fine. Come with me.” 

The elder motioned for all to follow. 

“Finally, let’s get on with it.” The loud one declared with the utmost disrespect. Sakumo squinted his eyes at the ninja who’s cheeky look bothered the polite boy. 

Young Sakumo was taught to always be polite even with rude people. He didn’t like the loud ninja, and he hoped his glare let the shinobi know. It must’ve, because something changed in the ninja’s eyes. Sakumo couldn’t understand what, but it made him feel disturbed and only his grandfather’s guiding hand helped the boy continue on. 

“Wait here.” The farmer put his hand up to stop the ninja from entering the shed of food. 

“Umm, no thanks.” The loud leader announced while his team nodded in agreement. “You could try and poison us. Or worse, give us shitty bell peppers or something.” 

“Tsk,” Nofū looked at the shortest one and pointed at him with his lips. “You can help me get it.” 

“Okay.” 

Nofū and the short Iwa nin entered, and Sakumo went to follow but was stopped by the loud one.

“Hey.” Nofū panicked for his grandson. 

“He’s just insurance you bring our buddy back okay.” Mr. Loud Ninja patted the eight year olds soft silver hair. “I’ll take care of him.” 

“No worries, Hatake-san.” The short one pushed the elder along. 

As Nofū and the short ninja placed supplies into the special Hatake sealing scrolls, poor little Sakumo dealt with the other Iwa ninja. 

“Look at this little farmer man.” The loud one picked the boy up under his armpits and swung him from side to side like a naughty kid would to a curious kitty. “He can walk on water. When’s the last time you saw a civilian do that?” 

“His name’s Hatake, honestly it’s not that surprising.” The harsh ninja replied. 

“You’re always ruining my fun.” The loud one tossed the kid to the biggest ninja. “He’s on a farm uhhh? Kaidan. So he’s a civilian.” The loud one spoke with both his hands and voice. 

“Kaidan. Ha that’s a good codename for you.” The big one tossed the boy to the harsh ninja as if Sakumo was a ball. 

Sakumo looked at the man who caught him. He was held straight out, and the two shared a stare. The mean brown eyes broke eye contact and shook the boy up and down as if he was weighing a sack of gold. 

“Yeah yeah, whatever.” Sakumo continued to stare at the ninja holding him. “I think this one would be good.” He tossed Sakumo back to the talkative ninja and reached into his back pocket.

Sakumo quietly looked at the two quiet ninja who were off talking on their own. 

“Grab this.” 

“Huh?” Sakumo saw the patience lower with the mean ninja and reached for the paper that was in front of him. “Agh!” Sakumo fell to the ground as the loud ninja dropped him. 

“Ahahaha!” The loud one laughed at the boy in the mud. 

“Sakumo!” Nofū ran back out of the shed to scoop up his grandson. 

“You got the goods?” The loud ninja questioned the short ninja. 

“Of course. Let’s head out.” The short ninja spoke and the quiet composed shinobi shunshinned out of there alongside the big ninja. 

“Are you alright Sakumotsu?” Nofū asked the stunned boy. 

Sakumo looked up at the loud and mean ninja, the only two remaining. Nofū looked up at them with anger. “What are you still doing here!”

Sakumo held out the piece of paper that had split down the middle. 

“Hmm…” The two ninja said in unison and teleported away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Olrighty, I'm pretty excited about this. I've always wanted to write an origins fic for Sakumo. This is inspired by both Chronicles of the White Fang by FleursMortes and Bone for Bone by Secunder. I love the idea of Tobirama being Sakumo's father, and I'd like to write my own take on it.


	2. Training Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakumo begins his ninja training

For the remainder of the day Hatake Sakumo ran laps around the farm. Roughly three acres of Hatake land became Sakumo’s track. Foot after foot Sakumo ran steadily. The quiet boy had his own storage of energy, but was beginning to feel fatigued. Everytime he felt like giving up he remembered the loud ninja. 

His grandpa Nofū went off ranting about how the new "mega" villages were making young ninja entitled and rude. Sakumo soaked up the rant and used it to inspire his new dreams. 

Shinobi needed to be quiet and humble. They weren’t meant to be seen, and his grandpa made it sound like the big ninja villages were destroying the traditional ninja. 

Sakumo took a deep breath and exhaled. He felt a burst of energy and felt the chakra rush through him propelling himself forward. The speed Sakumo picked up was new and was becoming hard to control. The young Hatake didn’t care though. He had memorized the path by now, and his imagination kept his momentum up. 

Hatake Sakumo was excited to drop the life of farming and become a ninja like his how his Grandpa used to be. A defender of the weak and oppressed. A dependable shadow. 

“Aaach!” 

Sakumo toppled over and grunted out in pain. The boy slowly rose and saw his mom, Hatake Kuwa, who was rubbing her lower back amidst fallen groceries. 

“Sakumotsu.” 

“I’m sorry mom!” Sakumo pushed his pain to the sidelines to help his mom pick up the fish and bread that had fallen to the ground. 

“Sakumotsu, why were you running so fast?” 

“I thought we got away from Whirlpool to avoid shinobi.” 

“We don’t have a choice.” 

“Sakumotsu is too young to get involved. He could get hurt.”

“All the more reason to start training him. Just to protect the farm for years to come, we’re not going to live forever.” 

Sakumo listened from outside the house. He knew he shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but if his mom and grandpa were going to talk so loudly Sakumo figured he might as well leave his ears open. 

The sun was dipping down, and the farm entered magic hour. 

“He’s lightening nature. Hatake techniques will come easy to him. If war is coming I’d rather he be prepared.” 

“What if he ends up like Kama or…” 

“Or?” 

Sakumo looked out over the silhouetted trees. He didn’t know much about his dad except that he was a ninja, and any mention of him resulted in a blanket depression. 

“He’s a Hatake. He won’t abandon his pack so easily.” 

The home schooled ninja began counting the stars that shimmered brightly for what felt like an eternity. It might’ve been three minutes, but what does an eight year old know about time?

“Sakumotsu. It’s time for dinner.” 

Kuwa lingered in the doorway with a silhouetted sadness her son couldn’t quite comprehend, so he hugged her before he entered their home. 

The quiet dinner consisted of rice and worried glances. Sakumo wasn’t used to being the cause of concern, he was a good boy who didn’t want to worry his mom. Spilling the fish and ruining dinner was disappointing, but Sakumo had no idea ninja stuff would worry his mom so much. 

“Sakumotsu. Come over here.” 

Kuwa called her son to her room. The boy entered and found his mom who had pulled out a box hidden under the tatami mats. 

“If you’re going to be a shinobi, I think it’s time I told you about your father.” 

“Really?” Sakumo got excited. Kuwa looked at her son and smiled somberly. She pulled out an old happuri with a symbol engraved on it. 

“This used to be your fathers. He left it with me, before he left.” 

Sakumo took the armor and pressed his face into it. The happuri was too big for Sakumo’s child size face. 

“Do I look like dad?” 

“Almost exactly.” Kuwa’s eyes filled with tears. “Sakumo please promise me you’ll stay here.”

“I promise mom.”

“And that you won’t get hurt in a fight.” 

“I promise mom.” Sakumo smiled warmly at his mom. “I’ll be the strongest ninja ever.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm this chapter was tough to write. I'll fix it later. At some point. 
> 
> I'll be trying my best to update weekly.


	3. Nitrogen Fixation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is late, but I made this one longer to make up for it.

Sakumo was in every way a natural ninja.

His chakra paths and reserves were already well formed, thanks to his farming ninjutsu. Nofū made sure that Sakumo focussed on defensive techniques. His mud wall was becoming quite formidable and Nofū was confident that his grandson could survive most shinobi encounters with it. If not, there would be no shame in running. 

Which Sakumo also excelled at. The boy’s speed was impressive which was important for his lightning nature. 

The Hatake clans’ ninjutsu scrolls were filled with a plethora of different techniques varying from huge lightning bolts to advanced fuinjutsu instructions. Currently, Sakumo had mastered a body spark technique and was working on shooting the sparks out his fingers. 

However Nofū did have ulterior motives. Even if war didn’t touch their doorstep, the techniques would also benefit the farm as well. All of Sakumo’s sparks over the farm had fertilized the soil and the years crops were plentiful.

Not that that mattered. Every month or so the group of Iwa ninjas went to every home in Oshino to take most of the civilians food. With a particular focus on the Hatake farm. 

The second visit from the Iwa nins was similar to the first. Short ninja would interact with Nofū, while the rest heckled Kuwa who quickly took her son inside their house. 

From then on, Kuwa managed to keep Sakumo from seeing or being seen by the Iwa nins. 

Something that was a bit of a disappointment to Sakumo. His childhood imagination gave him the impression he could take on the entire Iwa squad. He knew at some point he would be able to show off his moves and take down the loud mean ninja who called his mom something he didn’t understand. 

“It’s going to be a full moon tonight.” Kuwa stated with concern. “The Iwa are going to be here later today…” 

Sakumo’s ears perked up. 

“I already loaded a scroll. They won’t be here long.” 

“Grandpa, when will I learn how to do the scroll… stuff?” 

“It’s called fuinjutsu.” 

“Fuinjutsu.” Sakumo repeated the word with intent. The little farmer ninja always thought the sealing scrolls were amazing. He had no idea how his grandpa did it, and he often wondered if he could go inside one. Or if he could stick his arm inside the scroll and if it could come out of a nearby scroll. 

“Yes. Your mom is actually really gifted at it.” 

“Really?” 

Kuwa smiled and nodded softly. Still concerned about the unwanted guests on their way. 

“Can you teach me mom? Please?” Sakumo gave his mom a big grin. Kuwa looked to her father who returned a small smile. 

“You should, Kuwa. It’ll keep the boy inside.” 

“Yes, I’ll teach you Sakumotsu.” 

“Yes! Thank you mom.” Sakumo hugged his mom. 

After finishing the morning chores, Kuwa pulled out her own box of scrolls. She pulled out some brushes, ink, and another special canister of ink that shimmered a purple.

“Mom, why does that ink look different?” 

“It’s some special chakra infused ink from Uzu no Kuni.” Kuwa set a scroll in front of Sakumo, and took her own. “It’s a better conductor and will keep the seal from deteriorating over time.” Her elegant hand stroked the brush in an intricate pattern. 

Sakumo’s eyes followed the pattern and observed the ink shimmer a beautiful purple. 

“The pattern must be exact or the seal will be useless.” 

“Is sealing only for holding stuff?” 

“It’s the easiest seal, but there’s different applications.” Kuwa petted Sakumo’s shiny silver hair then picked up a different scroll. “When you’re older or get the hang of the basics, I’ll show you the big jutsu stuff.” 

Sakumo’s grin was ear to ear. He jumped up and hugged his mom. 

“Haha thanks Mom.” Sakumo took the scroll containing advanced fuinjutsu and admired the scrolls looks. Blue and silver was engraved with the Hatake crest. 

“You’ve got a long way to go before you could open that one Saku-chan.” 

“Maaahm… I’m a ninja now, you can’t call me that.” 

“Hahaha, of course Sakumotsu.” 

“Mmf.” Sakumo playfully pouted at his mom and picked up the brush to begin his first lesson. 

Nofū stood out on the path leading to family farm waiting for the Iwa parasites that have been bothering his family and town for the past year. 

A strong wind picked up and a swirl of leaves came out to obscure Nofū’s vision. Instead of the usual six, there were only three Iwa ninja. The large, mean, and loud one stood in front of Nofū.

“Hey old man! Ya got the goods?” 

“Here take it and leave.”

Nofū tossed the storage scroll and the large one caught it in the air. 

“Well get goin Fu.” 

In a puff of smoke the big Iwa ninja was gone, and the two others stood facing down the Hatake.

“What are you doing?” Nofū straightened his back and went on guard. 

“Well, honestly this is just taking too long and I’m not very patient.” 

Sweat rolled down the side of Nofū’s elderly face as he reached into his back pocket, resting his hand on the sharpened blade. The mean ninja took a step towards Nofū.

“This war isn’t going well for us.” The ninja pointed towards his Iwa head band. “Your supplies aren’t enough for us to keep you around. Not only that, but we’ve noticed the chakra that comes from this farm.” 

“Yeah Hatake!” The loud one spoke with his chakra as he moved closer to the farmer. “A Uzushiogakure refugee family. You’ve probably got something to do with Konoha’s success in the area.” The two ninjas began to circle the old man. 

“I assure you, I don’t want anything to do with any ninja village.” Nofū remained as calm and still as a rock. “I just want to keep my family safe.” 

“Oh, so that’s why you trained that little farmer.” Every word was like water breaking down Nofū’s rock. “Well, I think he’s better off with us.” 

Nofū’s nightmare was becoming a reality, but he didn’t have time to dwell on that. The two Iwa nins leaped forward each with two kunai in hand. Nofū ducked to the ground dodging the attacks, but more importantly his hand sent chakra into the ground. Creating a screen of dirt the elder man created a clone before performing the head-hunter jutsu. 

The Iwa shinobi jumped up into the sky to get a better line of sight. As the two used chakra to descend slower they casually went into conversation. 

“Hey, can’t you, tch tch...” Loud ninja man clicked his tongue and used his hand to mime the dust away. “Ya know, blow the dirt away?” 

“And show my jutsu?” 

“Yeah!” 

“Fine but we gotta kill all the witnesses.” Mean nin weaved a single hand sign with a smirk on his face. “Kazanami!” A gust of wind dissipated the dirt screen. The chakra powered wind revealed a Nofū squinting through the wind. 

“Alright!” The loud one increased his speed downwards and weaved his own hand signs. “Raaaaaagggh!!!” 

The floor of the Hatake home shook ruining Sakumo’s lines. A small explosion of ink lashed out at the mistake. 

“Ah!” Sakumo blinked and spat out the ink that landed in his mouth.

“What was that?” Kuwa stood up and went to the window. She looked out and saw a mud wall being bombarded by a huge vortex of flames. “Sakumo, come with me.” 

“Mom, what about Grandpa?” 

“Don’t worry about us. Just worry about staying safe. Don’t leave until you’re sure they’re gone.” Kuwa took her son’s hand and lead him to her room. She undid a floor board and revealed a hole filled with a few boxes, but enough space for a kid to hide inside. “I love you Sakumotsu.” 

“Mom?” 

Kuwa shut the hole covering and Sakumo listened to his mother’s footsteps run out the door. Sakumo sat looking up seeing nothing but the thin crack of light that highlighted the floating dust particles. 

Nofū grunted at the powerful force of fire that was burning through his mud wall defenses. His body in old age couldn’t form as much chakra as he used to. He knew that these young ninja had the advantage, but he wouldn’t be defeated so easily. 

Taking the tanto from his back pocket, the old Hatake held it out and placed it facing into the palm of his hand. After mumbling a quick prayer, he slammed the blade into his shaky hand. Before pulling out the blade, Nofū grabbed a blue and silver scroll from his inner shirt pocket. Skillfully unrolling the scroll with a flick of the wrist, the old man pulled out the knife and slapped the summoning scroll with a bloody palm. 

“Kuchiyose no jutsu!” 

An explosion of smoke shattered the remnants of Nofū’s mudwall, and between the ground and Nofū stood a wolf roughly the size of the Hatake house. 

“Hatake Nofū, I thought you retired?” A deep feminine voice vibrated through Nofū’s body as the large shewolf spoke. 

“Whoaa! What a cool looking dog!” The loud Iwa man hollered towards them. “Should we summon something too?” 

“Why not?” The mean ninja smiled smugly at his partner and with much less theatrics than Nofū, pricked his thumb for a drop of blood and summoned a large rhinoceros rivaling the size of the wolf. 

Nofū took a deep breath to sigh and felt every ache as his summoning let out a terrifying howl. The rhino grunted before charging at the wolf. Nofū planted his feet to his summon, and awaited the oncoming impact. 

Before the Rhino could meet the wolf a large bolt of lightning shot out and knocked the rhino into the ground. The two Iwa ninjas jumped off before falling alongside their rhino. They looked in the direction of the lightning bolt, and saw Kuwa holding open a large scroll pointed right at them. 

“Get out!” Kuwa sent another charge of chakra to the scroll and sent a smaller bolt towards the two men. 

“Tch, goddamn it!” 

“I hate these guys. Fucking Uzushio fuinjutsu, I thought this was going to be over in like five minutes.” 

“Well, they are Hatake.” 

“Hmm, well let’s hurry this up.” The loud ninja focussed his chakra and closed his eyes before opening them revealing glowing red eyes. 

Kuwa and Nofū recognized the intensity and braced for the worst. 

Sakumo wasn’t sure what to do. The ground quaked for what felt like an eternity, and when the silence finally arrived Sakumo sat with his own anxiety. He heard footsteps enter the house, but he also heard the voice of the loud ninja. 

“Did you see the surprise in his eyes? I bet you didn’t even have to stab him, he would’ve just had a heart attack and died right there.” 

“Of course, your genjutsu is like nothing else. I love seeing it in action.” 

“Hmm, well since you love it so much. Look at this.” 

Sakumo couldn’t figure out what the two upstairs were up too, but he obediently heard his mom’s orders. He waited, for what he thought was an hour. 

“Should we take him right now?” 

“No, sensei said we’d be here for another six months. Unless you want to babysit him for six months.” Sakumo knew that they were talking about him. “Besides, what if he’s too spoiled? What if he dies real quick? Let’s find out if he’s even worth the effort.” 

“Mmkay… Do you think sensei’s gonna be impressed?” 

“If we get the scrolls he asked for.” 

“Damn… I sense that they’re next to the kid.” 

Sakumo waited for the squeaks of the floorboards to sound them getting closer, but was surprised when light flooded his vision. Frozen in fear, Sakumo did nothing but widen his eyes as he looked at the Iwa ninja standing in front of him. Other than some dirty knees and specks of red, the two ninja didn’t look like they were in much of a fight. 

“Hey kid!” The loud ninja looked at him with obsidian eyes that appeared off. Sakumo knew there was something going on with his eyes, but his observations just slid off the eyeball. “We’re just gonnaaa take these here scrolls.” 

“Ma…”

“Oh sorry kid, we had to get rid of her.” Sakumo felt hot heavy tears. “It’s easier this way. Don’t die, and we’ll come back for ya.” 

“Gross, it’s crying.” 

“Okay, let’s head out.” 

The two ninja left in a flash, just as Sakumo’s tears hit the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm rushing through this beginning stuff, but I'm just looking forward to what will happen later on. 
> 
> Also I feel bad because I'm gonna be away from my laptop for a minute. So I might be gone for a minute. 
> 
> Happy holidays and all that :D


	4. Harvest

Oshino was a small village. Everyone knew each other, and all the goings on. The tragic battle at the Hatake farm was already known by the time Sakumo found the strength to look for help. Most families didn’t want to risk the rage from Iwa, and ignored the poor boy. 

Sakumo ended up walking back to his destroyed home. On his way an old man who lived under the bridge at the opposite end of town called out to Sakumo. 

“Hey. You’re the Hatake boy right?” 

Despite the recent tragedy, Sakumo didn’t want to respond to the man. Sakumo was sure he would end up killed and eaten by the bridge man. A mean spirited game that was unique to Oshino instilled that fear in the young orphan. 

“You ever need a place to stay, I got an extra pillow.” 

Sakumo didn’t say anything as he made his way to the farm. The smell of burnt corpses was still lingering in the air. He was hungry, and part of him felt sick for the thought. He made rice for himself, trying not to cry. Of course he fell asleep without taking a bite from his bowl. 

Life didn’t stop for the Hatake farm. The town still required the farm’s monthly payment, and little Sakumo had no idea how any of that worked. With the farm’s storage pillaged, Sakumo was out of luck and the boy was out on his own within a month of the tragedy. 

Fortunately, Sakumo had learned the basics of sealing. All the Hatake belongings, scrolls, and valuables were placed in three scrolls. Sakumo was proud of his work, but had no reason to be happy about the circumstances. He put the scrolls in his bag along with his mom’s homemade blanket. 

He lived in the child made forts of the forest for a few days, but after the bigger kids terrorized him Sakumo decided it wasn’t worth the bullying. 

His friend Momo snuck him into her house, but after her dad caught him, Sakumo was promptly kicked out. Momo apologized, and did her best to give Sakumo leftover food when she could. A kindness that wouldn’t last long. 

Eight weeks after the attack, Iwa forces were setting up camp on the outskirts of Oshino. The citizens were terrified of the ninja, and easily let the ninja run the town. Sakumo wasn’t having any of it, and the boy challenged any Iwa nin he saw in town. 

Sometimes he was lucky, and the Iwa ninja would impart some tips and tricks unto Sakumo. Usually it ended with the boy beaten and bloodied. 

One could only lick wounds under a tree for so long before the cold becomes unbearable. 

Two months after the tragedy, Sakumo found himself standing on the old man’s bridge. On the opposite side of the Iwa encampment, Sakumo thought it’d be a nice escape from the ninja. 

“Oi. Hatake!” Sakumo looked at the approaching old man. He wore a well worn farmers hat, and a raggedy old purple robe. 

“Hey.” Sakumo hesitantly spoke. He was still shy and a little scared of the old man. 

“You lose the farm?”

“Yeah, I guess…” Sakumo looked down. It wasn’t his fault it was gone. 

“Well, you can call me Michi.” Michi held out his hand. 

“Um, I’m Hatake Sakumo.” With reluctance, Sakumo shook the old man’s hand. 

“Well Sakumo-kun, I just scored some free rice. Would you like to join me for dinner?” 

Sakumo ate the humble dinner with Michi, and heard the story of how Michi watched a man walk with a hole in his rice bag. He waited for the man to walk all the way down the street before letting the man know. The man thanked Michi for letting him know, and let Michi pick up the fallen rice. 

Sakumo smiled awkwardly, not knowing what to say to the old man. For now the boy just enjoyed the warm meal and fire.

Michi laughed, and went to the bricked wall of the bridge. He looked at Sakumo and put his finger to his lips. He pulled out a loose brick and dug out some box that held pillows and a blanket, along with a bottle of old sake. 

“Here you go Sakumo-kun.” Michi handed Sakumo a pillow before taking a big swig of the sake. He put his bottle back in his hidey hole. “Maybe when you’re older, you can drink with old Michi.” 

“Thanks Michi. Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight Sakumo-kun.” 

After several months with Michi, Sakumo had learned the ways of the street. Michi and Sakumo would work together to survive. Ninja or citizen. It was the two of them versus the world. Michi was smart, and most of the time the two walked away with a warm meal or some supplies. 

Sakumo admired the brains Michi had. It inspired Sakumo to be more inquisitive about the world, and to be more kind. He had no idea the homeless man under the bridge would be nicer than the rich butcher with the biggest three bedroom house in town. Michi was also encouraging Sakumo’s young ninja mind, and gave Sakumo a new perspective about his jutsu. Sakumo had used his earth jutsu to expand the bridge's wall, and kept the two out of the gusts of wind. 

“Sakumo, have you ever tried making furniture with your earth jutsu?” 

“No… My grandpa said jutsu is intended for field work or battle.” 

“Well technically, we are outside.” Michi rubbed his chin. “This is kind of a field, and wouldn’t making a couch be considered a kind of work?” 

“I suppose…” 

“Besides, I bet your grandpa would love to see you helping out another old man.” With that Sakumo smiled and slammed his hands into the ground, which built a lumpy rock of a couch facing the gentle stream of water. “Nice work Sakumo! But I kind of wanted it by the fire pit.”

Sakumo eventually trusted Michi enough to show the man his Grandpa’s scrolls. Michi was curious, and began asking questions like where the objects went. 

Could a person go inside and come back out? Could objects travel from one scroll to another? What was possible with the scrolls? 

Michi and Sakumo explored these questions as much as a novice sealer could, but neither of them wanted to risk going inside a scroll. For now, Sakumo worked on transporting objects from one scroll to another. He studied his grandfather’s scrolls every chance he could. Some symbols were too complex for little Sakumo to read, but he worked through it with Michi. 

“I think this symbol should go there,” Michi pointed to an empty space, “It sort of looks like the word for jump.” 

“Ok, let’s see.” Sakumo wrote down the word as nicely as he could. 

Suddenly, the practice scroll floated up and rolled itself back into place. The scroll spun around before running out of energy and landed on the ground. 

“Huh?” Michi was surprised at the reaction, but Sakumo was less impressed. 

“We’re never gonna figure this out.” Sakumo grabbed the scroll and opened it once more. 

“Don’t get down Sakumo. You don’t have to figure everything out on the first try.” Michi patted the boy’s spiky silver locks down. “We’ll figure it out.” 

Sakumo took a breath, Michi was right, but it was still disappointing. 

“Let’s try this symbol.” Sakumo pointed to another symbol. Michi squinted unsure, but he had no experience with ninja scrolls. 

“Write it down Sakumo-kun.” 

With that the scroll blasted into oblivion, the two friends were blown away. The buzzing in Sakumo’s head was still going when he sat up. Michi was laughing, but no noise registered in Sakumo’s brain. Michi sat up and grabbed the scrolls, removing the bridge's brick, and setting the scrolls inside. 

“That was an experience!” Michi laughed some more. “I think that’s enough sealing for today.” 

Sakumo nodded but something felt different. Something was wrong. 

“Come on, Sakumo-kun. Let’s go find something warm to eat.” Michi began to walk out from the shelter of the bridge. Sakumo gazed at the brick once more, only to bump into Michi. 

“Hey.” 

The obnoxious Iwa ninja was back. 

Sakumo felt his heart skip a beat. He furrowed his brows in anger, and charged at the ninja, before Michi grabbed his shoulder. 

“Was that a sealing related explosion?” The masked ninja took a step closer. Sakumo tried to glare at him in the eye, but he couldn’t hold the glare without his eyes hurting. “You should be more careful with those. You could really hurt yourself kid.” 

“You bastard! I’ll kill you!” Michi held the angry boy back. 

“Whoa! Kid I’m just trying to help you out.” The ninja had a chuckle in his voice that infuriated the boy. “Here I was coming to save you from this old creep.” 

Michi clicked his tongue in annoyance, and Sakumo escaped from the old man’s grasp. 

The boy unleashed a barrage of kicks and punches. The trained ninja had no difficulty dodging the boy’s attacks. 

“Your grandpa taught you good form at least,” in a swift motion the ninja parried Sakumo’s attack and sent the boy flying away, “but you could do more damage like this.” 

The man used a series of kicks to send Sakumo up and into the cold river water. 

“Stop!” Michi attempted to tackle the ninja, only to end up thrown into the shallow river himself. Sakumo stood up just in time to see the masked ninja in front of Michi, blade drawn. Michi trembled, but only for a moment before he was twitching in the freshly reddened stream. 

Sakumo couldn’t process what happened. 

A year's worth of tragedy was unfolding, all because of the masked ninja in front of him. His mom, grandpa, his home, Michi, all of them were gone. 

Sakumo felt white hot rage and heartache behind his eyes. 

His chakra was becoming visible, a trail of light followed his charge at the Iwa nin. 

“Whoa!” The ninja looked impressed, but was swiftly punched in the gut. “Damn it!”

Suddenly, Sakumo couldn’t see. His white chakra was filling up his eyes, and the boy could only feel the body in front of him. Sounds of pummeling, the water splashing, blades unsheathing. 

When his vision returned, he was looking at even more ninjas and lots of blood. 

These new ninja were different, more foreign. Instead of two rocks, some sort of swirly shape was carved into their headbands. Sakumo was worried they would bring even more trouble. He did his best to not let any tears fall in front of the strangers, but was failing miserably. The strangers who kept looking at him like he was an animal trapped in a zoo. 

“Hey, are you alright?” A short man with spiky brown hair and black lines down his eyes broke the silence. Sakumo didn’t say anything as the man walked closer to him. “My name’s Sarutobi Hiruzen.” Hiruzen held out his hand. Sakumo shook the hand, then apologized after realizing his hand was bloody. 

“It’s okay, I’ve seen worse.” Hiruzen smiled at the distraught kid. “I assume that guy was planning on hurting you.” 

Sakumo didn’t know if it was safe to respond to these ninja. He looked down at the ground, only to feel the ground shake. An explosion on the other side of town was heard, along with the faint screams of the townsfolk. 

“Come on Hiruzen. The battle’s starting.” The single kunoichi called for Hiruzen. Her pitying look made Sakumo’s eyes water. 

“Look kid, we have some stuff to do.” Hiruzen pulled out a rag, and wiped the blood off of Sakumo’s face. “Our village could take care of you. You could come with us after we finish our business with Iwa.” Hiruzen let Sakumo take the rag before walking over the bridge, his team following him. 

Sakumo looked at each of them. Six in total. He made eye contact with one. He had black curly hair that looked like he had never heard of a comb. His eyes were bright red, and seemed to turn hypnotically. Sakumo watched him smirk before turning away and heading towards the chaos. 

Michi had floated away. 

Sakumo gave a short prayer for his fallen friend. 

Everything seemed to happen so fast. Sakumo looked at his reflection in the river. The steady stream and brownness of the water made it difficult to make out any details of himself. Almost like he wasn’t even there. 

Explosions and shouts echoed to the south of him. Sometimes a lone person would cross the bridge, Sakumo watched them. Before the sun set, he saw a mother and daughter also running from the battlefield in town. 

His friend Momo and her mom, Sakumo only knew as Mrs. Kado. The red heads noticed the silver haired boy covered in blood. 

“Sakumo-kun!” Momo let go of her mom’s hand and ran to her friend. “Sakumo-kun are you okay?” Momo grabbed his hands, but was stopped by her mom who pulled Momo away. 

“Momo, don’t touch him.” Sakumo’s eyes widened in pain. “His shirt’s covered in blood, Momo.” Mrs. Kado’s words had stopped Momo, and the woman picked her daughter up to continue running north. 

“We’re going to Iwa Sakumo-kun!” Momo shouted out to Sakumo. “You should come too!” 

Sakumo watched the two run until they were out of view. The sun had set and there was no moon tonight, but the town on fire kept the darkness at bay. 

Sakumo finally felt like he should do something, and walked to his home under the bridge. He walked straight to the hidey hole brick. He pulled out his belongings, and looked at the scrolls with all the Hatake possessions.

Family scrolls and jutsu only meant for him. 

The boy thought of all the ninja he had already encountered. His grandpa Nofū drilled it into his head that no ninja should be trusted, a belief even Michi held. Whatever interest the ninja had in Sakumo, it couldn’t be good. If anything, he’d at least keep the Hatake jutsu safe. 

With that he methodically went through the scrolls and grabbed some small mementos. His Grandpa’s tanto, his mom’s medical/cookbook, a necklace his mom never wore but Sakumo always liked, a jutsu scroll that only had basic techniques, and an old family photo. 

Sakumo put his family’s scrolls back behind the brick, he’d come back for it someday when he was strong enough for those jutsus. For now he had to keep moving. 

The swirly ninja said their village would help him. Grandpa Nofū said ninja villages were an affront to ninja ascetics, but Michi gave Sakumo a need to see how things worked himself. 

So Sakumo sat with his back-pack next to a fire he built, waiting for the swirly ninja. They couldn’t be trusted, but it was better than living under a bridge forever. 

Sakumo looked in the direction of the smoldering town, then towards the darkness of the northern woods. He wanted to follow his friend Momo, but he’d rather die than side with Iwa. 

It wasn’t until the next day the six green and blue ninja returned. 

Sakumo thought about Mrs. Kado’s reaction to him, he seemed to fit in with the dried blood they all wore. 

“You ready kid?” 

“Yeah,” Sakumo took a deep breath at all that had happened, and to quell his anxiety about what comes next. “I’m ready.” 

The sun rose, and the seven of them stood on the bridge silhouetted by the rising sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol what a year
> 
> Anyways, this marks the end of the prologue. Sakumo will be in Konoha soon. 
> 
> Team Tobirama is my jam, and little Sakumo is gonna be spending a lot of time with them. That's probably for the worst, but I'm gonna have a lot of fun writing it.
> 
> Also idk why there's a second note that's from the first chapter, right beneath this one. If it's still there, let's all do our best to ignore it!


	5. The Senju Estate

Sakumo blinked away sleep, and awoke to the blur of green leaves. He felt exhausted and wanted to go back to sleep, but found the speed he was traveling at too nauseating. The ninja from Konoha told him it would take about a week to get to their home, and that when they got close enough he’d have to be blindfolded. For the safety of their village. 

Konohagakure. 

Apparently it was the first ninja village, and if you asked these six they’d tell you it was the best place on earth. Sakumo was intrigued, but was still grieving. It only took four minutes of travelling for the mourning boy to collapse from exhaustion. Jumping from tree to tree was too much for the malnourished, underslept eight year old orphan. 

He didn’t even know if one of the ninja cared enough to catch him.

The one who was currently carrying him had a cat ear hat, his name was Tori… Sakumo felt a headache from thinking about the situation too much. His eyes felt heavy, but before he drifted off to sleep again, he saw a flash of bright red. 

The curly haired ninja was staring into Sakumo’s eyes.

“Go to sleep, Sakumo-kun.” 

Sakumo felt a twinge of familiarity that made him uncomfortable, but soon he was dreaming. Despite his current state of trauma, Sakumo had nothing but hopeful dreams. 

There were no cruel reminders of what he lost, only the goal of being the famous ninja he fantasized about when there was still a Hatake farm. Of walking into a town full of Iwa oppression, and being the much needed savior. In these dreams he was dressed in the Leaf uniform, and stood with the ninja who were taking him to Konoha. 

When Sakumo woke up he was in a hospital room. The room was blindingly white and minimal. Sakumo blinked back his shock, and felt the presence of someone. 

Sakumo saw a man who looked as pale as the room he was in. White hair that stuck up similar to his own. The man’s red eyes stuck out against the white, and bore into Sakumo. His blue battle armor was an imposing sight. The little Hatake felt uncomfortable with the sudden judgement and didn’t know if he should say anything. 

“You are from Oshino, right?” The man’s deep voice echoed in the mostly empty room. The beeps of medical equipment quickend with Sakumo’s anxiety. “What’s your name boy?” 

“Hatake Sakumo.” Sakumo’s voice was dry and raspy. The man’s eyes softened ever so slightly, as he pulled out the necklace his mom never wore, he thumbed the pretty light blue gem. “That’s mine.” Sakumo croaked. 

“So it is.” The man stood up and let the silver necklace go into Sakumo’s little palm. “Your mother gave it to you?” 

“Well,” Sakumo felt sick thinking about everything. “She died, and I wanted something to remember her by. She never wore it though, because my dad gave it to her.”

“You don’t know your father.” The man wasn’t asking, he was stating what he knew as fact. 

“No. I never asked cause it made my mom sad.” 

“I see.” The man stroked his chin in thought for several moments. “You grew up on a farm? Why is it that you can use chakra?” 

Sakumo still felt like he was being judged, and wasn’t sure why he was being questioned. He was told he was going to be helped. 

“My grandpa taught me when Iwa came to our farm.” Sakumo looked down, the weight of it all never lifting. “He wanted me to be able to protect myself.” 

“I see.” The man looked at the young boy. Hatake Sakumo was small and thin, and although he could use jutsu, the boy wasn’t trained professionally. Sakumo was no threat, and was young enough to be molded into a fine weapon. Just as his own young team told him. 

“What do you want?” Sakumo’s eyes watered. “Where is the rest of my stuff? Who are you?” 

“My name is Senju Tobirama. I’m the second Hokage.” Tobirama walked closer to the foot of the bed. “You are a Hatake refugee. The Hatake clan was a powerful ally of the Uzumaki, and therefore the Senju.” Sakumo naively took in the information of his clan’s history. “I would be remiss to not extend a helping hand. My team has already informed me of the tragedy that has befallen you. I’m sorry for your loss.” Sakumo frowned at the reminder. “They also told me of your skill. Your ninja aptitude can be nurtured here.” 

The man’s tone felt official and cold. 

“You will be staying with me at the Senju estate.” Sakumo wasn’t quite registering what was being said, he didn’t even know what estate meant. “That way I can keep an eye on you.” Sakumo felt afraid from the feeling that emanated from Tobirama. “Don’t worry, your bag and its contents are being checked. It’s for the security of our village. After it’s cleared, my students will drop the bag off. Get to know them, as I want them to oversee your training.” 

“Thank you, Hokage-sama.” Sakumo finally stuttered out a response after a moment of silently processing the dump of information he was given. 

“All that I ask, is your loyalty to Konoha.” Tobirama’s voice and eyes hardened at the boy. “Understood.” Sakumo thought the man was being mean, and didn’t understand why. He would be good. 

“Yes sir!” 

“Good.” Tobirama walked to the door. “You’ll be released soon enough.” 

It took the rest of the day for Sakumo to be cleared. He was passed from doctor to doctor. One had weird white eyes with veins that seemed to look right through Sakumo. The doctors gave him some fresh clothes after taking his blood and giving him various shots in his arms. Each one recorded things about Sakumo down, and it all ended with Sakumo getting his picture taken.

Sakumo wondered when he would get time to himself, when he would get to sit in whatever an estate was. When he could take some time to actually process what was going on.

By the late afternoon, he found himself with some answers. 

After the various people had a look at Sakumo and let him leave the building, a tall woman with red hair pulled into two buns was waiting at the entrance of the hospital. Sakumo noticed the seals she wore as earrings, and blushed at how pretty that was. 

“Are you Hatake Sakumo?” She spoke warmly. 

“Yeah, I am.” 

“I’m Uzumaki Mito.” She extended her hand gracefully. “Tobirama asked me to make sure you found your way to your new home.” Sakumo took her hand, and she led him down a path. 

Although the air was chilly, the sun’s rays gave Sakumo and Mito a welcome warmth. The path led them through town, and Sakumo was in awe at how much bigger everything was from Oshino. It wasn’t until he saw a small family shopping that Sakumo felt a deep sadness from everything that happened. 

The two kept walking, Sakumo wouldn't let his tears fall. Despite life dropping him right on the path to follow his dreams, Sakumo was still anxious about the whole situation. 

He belonged to Konoha. Did that mean he had to stay in the village walls? Could he eventually go back to the bridge? What about Momo? 

All Sakumo wanted was the comfort of his mom. 

“Here we are.” The two had walked up to the gate that led to the large Senju building. “The Senju estate. I’ve only had a good time here, Sakumo-kun.” Mito squatted down to Sakumo’s level. “I know you’re scared of these big village ninja, but I promise they won’t mess with you as long as I’m around.” Mito winked and gave Sakumo a thumbs up, 

Sakumo smiled as his eyes watered, he didn’t want Mito to see him cry so he hugged her. His sniffles might have been obvious, but it still stopped Mito from seeing his crying face. Mito lifted the boy up, and carried him to the house. 

Once they made it closer to the porch, Sakumo asked to be set down. It would be embarrassing if the Hokage was home and saw. 

“Thanks, Mito.” Sakumo blushed and looked away. “I really like your seal earrings. Did you make them?” 

“I did. I like to try and make a new one everyday.” Mito smiled at Sakumo. “Come inside and meet everyone, Sakumo.” 

“Okay.” Sakumo followed Mito through the entrance of the home. 

“We’re home!” 

“Grandma Mito!” A boy around Sakumo’s age ran into the room. “Who’s that dirty farmer?” Sakumo crossed his arms before self consciously assessing his old clothing, and wondered what about it said ‘farmer’. 

“Be nice Koji, he's your uncle Tobi’s new student, Hatake Sakumo.” Mito slipped off her shoes. “He’ll be living with us.” 

“Doesn’t uncle Tobi have enough students loitering around?” 

Mito gave her grandson a look that could be described as regally threatening. Her grandson understood he would have to be on his best behavior. 

“Uh, hi Hatake Sakumo, I’m Senju Koji.” The strawberry blond boy held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.” Mito put her hand on her grandson’s shoulder and squeezed. “I’m glad you’ll be staying here… with us.” Mito shared a warmer look with Sakumo. 

“Thank you, Koji. It’s nice to meet you too.” Sakumo took his shoes off, and followed Mito to the main room. Matching Koji’s stare of curiosity as he passed him. 

Sakumo caught up to Mito to look at the woman once more. 

“Mito, are you really Koji’s grandma?” 

“I am.” 

“Then why don’t you look old?” Mito laughed at the boy’s question. 

“That’s a special ninja secret.” Sakumo blushed and was determined to find out more about Mito and her secret jutsu. His thoughts were shaken when Koji purposely bumped into Sakumo. Sakumo glared at the boy, but the staredown didn’t last long before Mito intervened. 

“Is anyone else home Koji?” 

“Just Papa Butsuma. Everyone is off on missions, and Mom took Tsunade to the park.”

“You didn’t want to go?” 

“No, I gotta watch Papa.” Mito looked at Koji funny.

“You don’t have to worry about Butsuma,” Mito crossed her arms, “He can take care of himself.” Koji hummed in doubt. Sakumo wondered who this Butsuma was, but more importantly he liked seeing Mito be sharp with Koji. “Now let’s find out what’s for dinner.” 

Mito led the boys to the kitchen where two housekeepers were at work. 

“Jun! Emi! Come meet our new family.” Mito called out while Koji and Sakumo both looked up in surprise. Family in a foreign land? Sakumo still had yet to meet the entire household. 

“Mito-sama!” Two pretty girls in aprons answered in unison before they stood in line and bowed. 

“This is Hatake Sakumo.” Mito motioned to the bashful boy. “Tobirama-sama has taken him on as his ward.” Sakumo blinked in surprise, but Koji spoke for him. 

“What?” 

“The Hatake clan is a powerful ally to us Uzumaki.” Mito placed her hand on Sakumo’s spiky locks. “Sakumo has already displayed his ninja abilities in front of the elite six. Hokage-sama understands it’s better to adopt a skilled foreigner before some other village gets the same idea.” Sakumo understood, and silently thanked the Hokage. Despite his anxiety of being in Konoha, he decided it was much better than being held hostage in Iwa. Especially when he was being welcomed by Mito. 

“We welcome you Hatake Sakumo.” Emi and Jun said in unison. The two smiled warmly before one of them spoke, Sakumo didn’t know the difference between them yet. “What’s your favorite food Sakumo-kun?” 

“Yakitori!” Sakumo blurted out with a grin. After months of only eating rice and whatever small fish Michi could catch, Sakumo drooled just thinking about fair food. His Grandpa Nofū would buy him one whenever Oshino had a small festival. That was a lifetime ago, and Sakumo didn’t think it would be possible to get his favorite food ever again. 

“Then that’ll be the main course!” Emi and Jun got to work, and Mito walked the boys out. 

The Senju estate had a huge living room that could probably have held the entirety of the humble Hatake house. Sakumo awkwardly stood, remembering Koji’s words about being dirty. Mito motioned for him to sit down, and Sakumo hoped he wouldn’t make a mess. 

“Sit down Sakumo.” Sakumo obeyed and took a seat by Mito’s side. “Please tell us about yourself.” The silver haired boy blushed, and stuttered without actually saying anything other than what his name was.

“So you’re already a ninja?” Koji interrupted the stuttering, his eyes scanning the scrawny kid.

“Well, I guess I am.” Sakumo fiddled his fingers making sure his words came out right. “My grandpa taught me jutsu, so I could help plant and harvest.” It was becoming a script to Sakumo. “Then Iwa came to our farm, and my grandpa taught me how to defend myself.”

“What happened to your grandpa?” Koji asked innocently. Once more there was a pang and Sakumo took a breath. It was getting easier, but Sakumo didn’t think he’d ever get over his loss.

“Iwa killed him.” Mito noted the hatred in Sakumo’s tone. “They killed my mom too.” Sakumo looked down at the floor, and couldn’t help the hot tear that ran down his cheek. 

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room, and on top of the sadness, Sakumo felt anxious for causing it. Just then the door opened loudly, and the happy sound of a mother and daughter coming home broke the quiet. 

Wiping his face, Sakumo stood up to meet the newcomers. 

“We’re home!” After a moment, a woman who looked almost exactly like Mito, but wore her hair in a side braid, walked in being tugged by a blonde toddler with pigtails. “Oh who is this?” 

“Hi, I’m Hatake Sakumo.” Sakumo bowed at the woman. “I’m Tobirama-sama’s new… ward?” Sakumo looked to Mito who nodded with a smile. 

“Oh, well it’s nice to meet you Hatake Sakumo. I’m Senju Satomi, this is my daughter Tsunade.” Satomi returned the bow, Tsunade smiled at Sakumo’s silver hair. 

“Gin Gin!” 

“She likes your hair, Sakumo-kun.” Sakumo nodded then kneeled down to Tsunade, the toddler focused her hand coordination to pat the silver spikes. “It reminds her of our cat Giniro.” 

“That’s what she says about Uncle Tobi’s hair too.” Koji added behind Sakumo. Satomi looked at her mother with a questioning look, but any answers would have to wait for the children to fall asleep. Until then the family sat together in the large expensive furniture. Tsunade played with Sakumo’s hair, and Sakumo understood why he hadn’t seen the cat. The toddler sure liked to stroke his hair roughly.

“How do you like it here, Sakumo?” 

“Um, it’s nice.” Sakumo wasn’t sure how to answer, he hadn’t seen the whole house yet. “It’s much bigger than my old home.” 

“Where is your old home?” 

“I’m from Oshino.” 

“Oshino?”

“It’s a farming town on the border of Grass and Earth.” Mito informed her inquisitive daughter. A daughter who has for the most part, retired from ninja work. “The six found him.” 

“Oh… I see. Those ninja weren’t mean to you were they?”

“Um, no they helped me.” Sakumo cocked his head in question. The ninja who helped him out were decent enough, but he was still waiting on them to bring him back his stuff. “Are they usually mean? The Hokage said they’re examining my backpack.” 

“Well,” Satomi started off soundly, while Koji nodded with a pout, “they’re young and can be hot headed.” 

Sakumo was curious about the ninja who took him away from Oshino. He was too exhausted to properly get to know them. He knows that they were with him in his dream of being a ninja hero. 

“Will they be here soon?” Sakumo was eager to meet the ninja, but more importantly to get his stuff back. 

“They probably won’t be here till after dinner.” Mito noticed the disappointment on Sakumo’s face, and thought it would be best to let Koji distract him. “Koji, why don’t you show Sakumo your room?” 

“Okay.” Koji agreed the boy had been growing restless. “Come on Sakumo.” Koji started to run with Sakumo in tail. 

“Don’t run in the house boys!”

“Yes mom.” Koji changed his pace to a brisk walk that Sakumo copied. “So what kind of jutsu can you do?”

“I can do mud wall, but I really like making seals.” 

“Why?” Koji looked confused. “Sealing is for old people with bad chakra.” Sakumo felt insulted, but before he could think of anything, Koji had already moved on. “This is my room.” 

Koji slid open a door and showed Sakumo his rich kid room. Sakumo had never seen some of the stuff that Koji had. 

“What’s this?” Sakumo picked up a toy off the floor.

“That’s just my kendama.” Koji took it and showed off his variety of moves and finished with an around the world. “I mastered it years ago. You can have it if you want it.” Koji crossed his arm in an attempt to look cool. Sakumo blinked before pocketing the kendama, and took in the rest of Koji’s room. 

Koji had one big bed with modern blankets, a chest of overflowing toys, and shelves of books and manga. Sakumo was jealous of Koji’s life immediately. 

He didn’t even have to share a room with his alive grandpa. 

Sakumo didn’t know what to say, so he just kicked the football that was also out on the floor. Sakumo might not have ever seen a Kendama before, but he was the best football player in Oshino. Before the town was burned off the face of the map. 

So Sakumo did his own bragging, and performed his own set of punts and finished with another round the world. Only it had almost been an entire year since Sakumo practiced, and he couldn’t balance the ball perfectly on his foot anymore. 

The ball went to Koji who caught it and tried his own set. The boys volleyed the ball back and forth until it hit Koji’s foot wrong and bounced out the door. 

The boys briskly walked after the ball, until the urge was too strong. Koji kicked the ball further down the long hallway, and they gave chase. The estate’s halls were a maze to Sakumo, and he didn’t know that there were rooms that should be avoided. A careless kick sent the ball flying into the paper wall of a room, hidden in the corner of the house. 

“Oi!” 

An old angry voice stopped the boys in their tracks. Koji’s eyes widened and he held Sakumo back. 

“I got this.” Koji whispered to Sakumo before walking into the dark room. “I’m sorry Papa Butsuma. Uncle Tobi’s student threw this at me.” 

“Was it that Uchiha one?” An old man with a head of white as snow hair, and black eyes that sunk into his face stepped into the doorway. “You watch out for that one, Koji.” 

“I do Papa.” Koji smiled as he came out with the football. 

“Tobi?” The old man squinted, folding his face into more wrinkles, at Sakumo. 

“Uh…” 

“This is Hatake Sakumo.” Koji introduced Sakumo, already knowing the boy was shy. “He’s staying with us.” Butsuma looked like he was going to say something, only to be interrupted.

“Kojiro, Sakumo, don’t bother father.” 

Sakumo and Koji whipped around too fast and had to step back when they saw Tobirama. 

“Sorry, Uncle Tobi.” 

“Dinner’s ready, go wash up, and show Sakumo to the dining room.” Tobirama looked into Sakumo’s eyes, and Sakumo had no idea what the look meant. He was hoping Mito would be with him the next time he saw Tobirama. 

“Yessir.” 

The boys ran off. Koji looked back in concern for his grandpa, but Tobirama’s red eyed glare scared his nephew away. 

“Father.” Butsuma looked down. Tobirama walked to his father and led him back into the room. 

Sakumo sat between Koji and Mito on the long dining table. Across from him was Satomi and Tsunade. Soon enough Butsuma came walking in slowly with a walker, Tobirama led from behind. Butsuma slowly sat next to his great granddaughter. 

“Tobi.” Mito asked in surprise. “You’ll be joining us?” 

“Papa!” Tsunade smiled at her great grandpa and giggled happily when the old man returned a gummy smile and played a quick game of peek-a-boo. 

Tobirama took a seat at the head of the table and made himself a plate from the spread in front of him. Sakumo had already been digging into his chicken. 

He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until the food was brought in. Sakumo had only been eating the chicken skewers, ignoring his vegetables and rice. He was so focussed on eating as much as he could, like when he was under the bridge with Michi, that he didn’t even notice Tobirama watching him intently from across the table.

“Eat your vegetables Sakumo.” Tobirama ordered. “You need the nutrients.” 

“Hmph?” Sakumo looked up when he noticed the other man. Unlike before, Tobirama was out of his battle armor, only dressed in black pants and a turtle neck. It made him look less intimidating, but Sakumo felt a constant threat from the man. Not like he was going to attack him, but like he was a bug. Captured and put into a clear box, to be examined. 

Sakumo didn’t know if he should trust that feeling or not. Whoever Tobirama was, he wouldn’t be a threat, not as long as Mito was around. Sakumo felt that energy of protection from Mito. Besides the man was taking him into his home and family.

So Sakumo nodded and ate his vegetables. He went to eat his rice, but after one bite he decided not to finish the rice.

The rice on it’s own tasted just like under the bridge. 

The rest of dinner was eaten in silence. Everyone seemed to want to ask questions, but were too afraid to ask. 

“Sakumo.” Tobirama said between finishing his food and wiping his mouth. “My students are here. Come with me.” 

“What about the dishes?” Sakumo asked innocently. He was fully intending to help clean up. 

“That’s what the help is for.” Koji was the one who answered with a chuckle. Tobirama nodded and stood up, ushering for Sakumo to follow. Sakumo looked to Mito who nodded. 

Sakumo was a bit nervous when they walked outside. The lack of a moon that night contributed to Sakumo’s anxiety. He couldn’t see where they were as Tobirama led him through the yard and into the tree line. After following a trail through the trees for a couple minutes there was an opening with a couple of wooden posts, but it was hard to see. 

Sakumo felt the presence of others. It was a new feeling that Sakumo wasn’t used to. He could feel the eyes on him. 

Before the tragedy, Sakumo could tell when his Grandpa and Mom were around. It wasn’t like this though. It was sort of like how he felt around Mito. He knew they were around because he felt safe. No one else in Oshino made him feel any sort of way, well maybe Momo and her mom also had a presence. 

Before he could get entirely lost in his thoughts. Sakumo felt a movement when him and Tobirama made it to the logs in the ground. 

Suddenly there was the curly haired ninja with glowing red eyes, standing before Sakumo. 

“Hey, Sakumo-kun!” The ninja who wasn’t all that tall at all, held out Sakumo’s backpack. “Here’s your stuff.” The ninja’s glowing eyes squinted in a smile as he threw Sakumo his backpack. 

“Thanks.” Sakumo opened it to check and see if everything was still accounted for. Suddenly another ninja just flashed into existence. Sakumo didn’t flinch, but he sure wanted to. The new ninja was also around Kagami’s height, but it was too dark to make any details about him out. 

“I’m Uchiha Kagami.” Kagami held out his hand and Sakumo shook it hesitantly. “Just so you know Sakumo, it was my idea to save you from that place.” Sakumo just stared at Kagami, and wondered why he brought that up. 

“I’m Shimura Danzo.” The other ninja spoke, but didn’t offer his hand. 

“Kagami and Danzo here will be the two overseeing the majority of your training.” Tobirama placed his hand on the two ninja’s shoulders. “You will come to this training ground every day at 0900 every day, unless they say otherwise.” 

“We’re gonna turn you into a perfect shinobi, Sakumo-kun!” Kagami winked, and his right eye glowed red as the dots in his eyes swirled. Sakumo grinned a toothy grin and he was reminded why he went with them. 

He was going to be a powerful ninja.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, 
> 
> I'm excited for what's to come. So much so, I might just have to start posting the other pov's for this story. 
> 
> We'll see though.


End file.
